– Red Bull literally showered its driver Isack Hadjar with praise after the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. This followed a comeback from 21st on the grid to sixth position with a particularly daring tire strategy, which Hadjar implemented optimally. This raises the question: Is he Max Verstappen’s best teammate to date?
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Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, at least, recognizes a clear trend: “Isack improves every time he drives this car. He always remains calm. He has this composed, cool demeanor. That works very well. And of course, it’s a huge factor for us this year that the second car is now also more competitive.”
Who drove the second Red Bull after Ricciardo
Because that wasn’t always the case at Red Bull in the past: After Daniel Ricciardo’s move to Renault in 2019, the second Red Bull cockpit became a “hot seat”: Pierre Gasly only got half a season alongside Verstappen, Alexander Albon at least a year and a half. Then Albon was also replaced.
From 2021, there was four years of consistency with Sergio Perez in the second car. The Mexican became the second driver after Ricciardo to also win races at Red Bull. But after a weak 2024 season with only four podium finishes and a sixth place as the highlight in the second half of the season, Perez’s time at Red Bull also came to an end.
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The musical chairs began again: Liam Lawson competed in two colorless race weekends for Red Bull before Yuki Tsunoda replaced him for the rest of the 2025 season, also without major highlights. Then Red Bull replaced Tsunoda with Isack Hadjar, who has now achieved six consecutive top-6 results. This was last achieved by Perez at the start of the 2024 season. Albon had managed it right at the beginning of his Red Bull tenure, Gasly not at all.
So where does Hadjar stand after just over half a Formula 1 season compared to his predecessors as Verstappen’s teammate? The key metrics show him as the second-best man after Ricciardo. With a current 3:7 in qualifying comparison and almost 66 percent of Verstappen’s points, Hadjar is clearly ahead of Albon, Gasly, Lawson, and Perez. (More on this in the Formula 1 database!)
But: They all had different amounts of time to prove themselves. And whether Hadjar can maintain his current average is uncertain.
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Why Red Bull is convinced by Hadjar
Red Bull nevertheless seems convinced that they are on the right track: “It is clearly enormously important to have two strong drivers. And that’s exactly what we have now,” Mekies said in Spa on Sky. “That’s a good step forward.”
In Belgium, Hadjar showed his “best race for Red Bull so far.” “There’s no doubt about it,” Mekies said. “Honestly, that wasn’t a one-off exception. Isack gets a little bit faster from race to race. In Spa, he took the next step. He was really very strong.”
That’s why Mekies considers Hadjar to be “one of the top three in the field” in terms of race pace, as he explained after the Belgian Grand Prix. “We are therefore very, very satisfied with his development.”
Hadjar sees himself as a podium contender
This fits Hadjar’s self-perception. He said after the race in Spa, full of confidence: “If I can just get a weekend without penalties, then I’ll be fighting for the podium with this pace.”
For him, the result in Belgium “was not surprising. I was finally able to show a really strong pace with clear air. I think this was my most complete race overall so far. I have to build on that now and keep pushing.”
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